Camera Bags

[TomMote]

Wondering if anyone has any recommendations on fairly small camera bags to carry just a camera and maybe one or 2 lenses?

Also what is your preference between a backpack, messenger bag and sling?

I have seen you can get the Olympus messenger bag for £35 and so if anyone has any experience with that it would be great to know. See link: https://shop.olympus.eu/en_GB//camer...274c3940d9b0df

[Phill D]

Are you sure its £35 the link says £69.99 for me. It does look like a nice bag though. Only other thing I'll add is that I got a similar bag with my EM1 mk2 a few years ago and yes it was gorgeous leather but it was pretty heavy so I sold it on.

[TomMote]

You can get 50% offers for it if you buy certain other items

[TomMote]

Looking at reviews it seems to weigh about 950g. Had not considered weight so thanks for pointing that out! Now I need to go and weigh bags to find out what seems too heavy to me :P

[ronidog]

I havea very nice camera bag that I won in a competition, thats not been used as its not what the style i use. Ill get it out and measure it up and let you know.

[ronidog]

This is the bag that is spare Think Tank Lily Deanne Lucido Review – The best mirrorless camera bag for women (mirrorlessons.com) However Tom, having looked at that review I see it was designed for women but I am not sure what that means

I coud let you have it for £40 inc Uk postage. let me know if you are intrested.

[TomMote]

Thanks for looking into your spare bag. Had a look online and whilst it looks like a really well made bag I don’t think it is for me both design and size wise.

[ronidog]

Thats ok I hope you find what you are looking for.

[Tram]

My recommendation would be either a ThinkTan
k Retrospective 5 or a Billingham Hadley Small.
TT 5 is heavier and my choice when I go on longer journeys and it gets stuffed under plane or train seats.
Bilingham is nice when going light wandering around city streets for a few hours.

[Simon Bee]

My recommendation would be either a ThinkTamk Retrospective 5 or a Billingham Hadley Small.
TT 5 is heavier and is my choice when I go on longer journeys and it gets stuffed under plane or train seats.
Bilingham is nice when going light wandering around city streets for a few hours.

I second that, I have both and they are great

[pdk42]

Billingham bags are great. I have two - the Hadley Small which is perfect for a body plus 2 to 4 lenses (depending on lens size), and the Hadley Digital which is smaller and works well with a body plus 1 or 2 lenses. In the Hadley Small, I usually have the EM1.3 plus 12-100, 8-18 and 8mm FE (but sometimes the EM1.3 plus 40-150/2.8, 12-40 and 8-18). In the Hadley Digital I usually put the EM5.3 plus 12-40 and a prime (usually the Sigma 30/1.4).

[TomMote]

The Billingham Hadley Small looks like a fantastic bag and probably exactly what I would want/need. However I think I might find something cheaper to start out with and treat myself at a later date. Quality looks amazing though.

[MikeOxon]

I've used various Lowepro bags over the years and there's a wide range to look at. I've found them durable and reasonably light.

[blu-by-u]

I started with a lowepro waist pouch. Then moved on to include a sling, then it was a backpack, then another holster, another messenger bag, It will never ended. I have Lowepro, Tamrac, Tenba, Bagman and several unbranded. I use to go only branded but after having gone trying to claim a lifetime warranty for poor material, I feel that those really expensive ones are not worth it. (sorry to offend) Lifetime warranty do not exist in my country.

As of now, I have so many camera bags that my wifey says she will throw them all out. They are occupying space.

[RedRobin]

@blu-by-u
And how many handbags has your wifey go? Or is her thing shoes? Hats?

[blu-by-u]

Asking a woman how many handbags and shoes? I think I want to live longer

[DaveJP]

I would also recommend Billingham bags. The Hadley Small Pro is perfect for a camera body and two or three lenses. I also have a Hadley Pro, which is better with bigger lenses, such as the 40-150 f2.8. My third Billingham is a System 3 bag, which I inherited from my Dad. It's over 40 years old, but still looking good and going strong, which is more than you can say about me!

I have a way of setting up the dividers in my Billingham bags that I believe makes the bag even more versatile; it involves a bit of extra velcro. The details are on the Billingham website in the customer reviews for the Hadley Small Pro under the name "Mr Plumb" (I don't know what happened to my initial). It's a bit wordy, but if anyone is interested I'll reproduce the details here.

[Steambuff]

That would be great .. Yes Please

[biggles3]

I've been using the Olympus Messenger Bag (black) for a while now and it's superb. It weighs only 750g and with both a wide strap and a carrying handle, it's very comfortable to use. I get my OM-D EM1 III, Power grip, 12-40 and 40-150 Pro lenses in there with room to spare. At the moment, Olympus has it reduced from £79.99 to £59.99.

[DaveJP]

Okay as requested; Billingham camera bags are well designed and superbly made, but I have a modification I make to the bag's two vertical dividers, which I think makes the arrangement even more flexible. All that's required is some 3cm wide sew-on Velcro, which is easily obtainable from Amazon or just about anywhere. The 3cm wide version is what Billingham use in their bags, however, the mod will still work with narrower 2.5cm Velcro, but it must be sew-on, not stick-on! Velcro comes in two different tapes, one has loops and the other has hooks; I only use the looped tape. I cut four 6cm strips of looped Velcro and stick them, hooks to loops, onto the Velcro that is fixed to each side of the bag's vertical dividers, working from the top to about a third of the way down. This creates a 6cm "unsecured" flappy section at the top of each divider where the Velcro hooks are now inoperative, so the Velcro does not grip. It allows the top part of the dividers to be bent over, or even lie horizontally, and comfortably supports a camera with lens facing downwards in the centre of the bag, while also covering and protecting equipment placed in the sections either side. The dividers can still be used in the normal upright manner if necessary, even though the top section no longer grips. I find this really improves the versitilty of the bag, yet it only takes seconds to remove the looped Velcro and return the bag to it's normal arrangement, if required. I'm sure the dividers in other bags in the Hadley range could be similarly modified.

I have no connection with the Billingham Company, other than by using their bags, and the fact that their products are manufactured in Cradley Heath, West Midlands, about five miles from where I live, which means we'm all Black Country folk together!

[ronidog]

please could you show us a photo. I agree about Billingham bags they are great quality and longlasting. They are worth considering secondhand as the price new can be a bit high.

[Steambuff]

Many Thanks

[DaveJP]

I can probably upload a photo of the Billingham bag modification, but it'll have to be tomorrow; it's half term and I'm fully occupied with grandparenting today!

[MikeOxon]

I know the feeling

[MJ224]

Camera bags are in league of how long is a piece of string..

Olympus gave away a really nice leather bag a few years ago when I bought an EM1 mk2 from the NEC. But I quickly (immediately) found it heavy and not really suited to camera kit.

In the log run, I feel I need a good camera bag at home to store most of my kit, but on the day, I generally know what I need. So actually, an Amazon basics fills that role, a sling bag is my preference. It does not carry the camera and lens that I am using, that goes over my shoulder. It carries bino's, and perhaps an alternative camera for wide/landscape photos. A lot of loot can be spent on camera bags, but you need to decide what you want one for, and in particular the daily circumstance..

[tmp]

for birding/wildlife camera/lenses.
i carry the bag all the time (spare batteries/water/snacks/lenses, etc.).
i prefer a bag that wears like a proper backpack (shoulder harness with waist belt[with bigger loads]) and of those i prefer the bags that open from the back (ie. Lowepro flipside) for two reasons...
first reason being---i do not have to put the body straps/harness/the part that i wear next to my own body in the mud/dirt/snow when i need to doff the bag in order to get in the bag
second...the contents are more secure when the bag opening is against my back and not facing outwards towards the general public.